This invention relates generally to the field of networking, and more particularly to the field of configuring network devices (referred to as xe2x80x9cnodesxe2x80x9d herein) initially when they are installed on the network. The nodes may be wireless devices. Furthermore, the nodes need not necessarily be computing devices, rather they could also be low bit-rate devices such as elements of a sprinkler control system, a heating, venting and air conditioning (HVAC) system, or security system in a residence, office, or building. The invention is particularly suitable for implementation in a residential environment, since it provides for automatic registration and configuration of the nodes in the network without requiring the services of technically trained personnel.
Prior art solutions for networking devices in a residential environment have tended to require expensive, highly complex Ethernetxe2x80x94based network equipment, similar to that found in a commercial setting. Home networking solutions generally have required significant technical expertise to install and manage. Often, the would-be purchaser of the product lacks such expertise, resulting in foregoing purchase of such systems, or experiencing frustration and further expense in getting it to operate properly. This is especially the case in getting the system to inter-operate with other networks outside of the residence.
The present invention provides methods for connecting a plurality of elements together in a network. The inventive method provides a significant improvement to prior art manual, user-performed configuration and registration procedures.
In a first aspect of the invention, a method is provided for configuring a node in a network. The method includes the step of receiving a packet at the node, with the packet comprising fields containing configuration information for a network element that sent the packet. The method continues with the step of automatically configuring the node by imprinting the node to configuration information in the packet, that is, by the node adopting for itself the configuration information contained in the fields of the packet. Preferably, the configuration information is stored in a non-volatile memory in the node for use in all future packets that the node transmits, and for future use in the case that the node undergoes a soft reset, such as by turning the node off and back on again.
The configuration information that the new node imprints to can vary depending on the network topology, design or architecture, and is not considered particularly important or critical. In the illustrated embodiment, the configuration information comprises a site ID and a subnet ID. The site ID identifies a particular location (such as a residence) where the network exists. The subnet ID identifies a logically defined group of network elements.
In another aspect of the invention, a method is provided for configuring a node in a network, comprising the steps of first installing the node (e.g., connecting the node to the network or otherwise turning the node on). Once the node is installed, it begins listening for packets transmitted by an element of the network for a predetermined period of time. If, during the predetermined period of time, the node receives a packet transmitted by another network element, the node imprints to configuration information contained in the packet. If no such packet is received in this period of time, the node assumes that it is the first element to be connected to the network and therefore it adopts configuration information derived from a pre-installed source stored in a memory in the node, such as the node""s pre-installed Medium Access Control (MAC) address. The configuration information derived in either fashion (from imprinting to another packet or from the pre-installed source) is then stored in a non-volatile memory for future use.
In still another aspect of the invention, a network of elements communicating with each other to form a system is provided. The network comprises a plurality of nodes or network devices (the nature and type is not important). The nodes periodically transmit xe2x80x9cheartbeatxe2x80x9d packets to each other to thereby identify themselves as being connected to the network. At least one of the plurality of nodes is automatically configured to the network when it is installed in the network by imprinting to configuration information contained in the heartbeat packets.
These and still other aspects and features of the present invention will be described in further detail in the following detailed description of a presently preferred embodiment of the invention. The following description describes several embodiments, including a wireless network embodiment in which wireless nodes broadcast packets to other nodes in a flooding process, and in which anti-looping codes are present in the packets to prevent infinite transmission of the packets. Many details of the wireless embodiment described below are not essential or critical to practice of the invention. The true scope of the invention is defined by the appended claims, and is not intended to be limited to particular features of the illustrated, representative embodiments.